Stella McCartney Interview Magazine April 2012

Stella McCartney on Her Famous Family and Staying Sane in the Age of Galliano

br>>> It's going to be a big year for Stella McCartney. Her sporty Fall 2012 collection garnered nearly universal rave reviews, and 900 of Britain's finest athletes will compete in her wares during this year's Olympic games in London.

In a recent interview with Tim Blanks, McCartney explained how she's keeping all of her success in perspective. "When I feel myself getting nervous and stressed and self-absorbed, I try to just go, 'Oh, come on,'" she says. A few more highlights from the interview:

On the demise of designers like John Galliano: "I don't think anyone can give an exact reason. Yeah, there's a lot of pressure in our industry. We all feel it. But I think there's a lot of pressure in a lot of industries. Sometimes the fashion industry can get a bit kind of isolated and it's all 'Oooh! It's so relentless!' But I don't see our industry as the only one like that. But I do think that personality comes into play a lot. I also try not to take myself too seriously."

On her famous parents: "Imagine . . . everyone knows who your mom and dad are, and they know something about you and you don't really know anything about them or who they are. So you get a little bit defensive and you sort of want to go up to them and say, 'Hi! Who's your mom and dad?'"

On the death of her mother, photographer Linda McCartney: "I feel like a different person since my mom passed away, like I'm driving a ship with my husband alongside me and we're leading these four children into unknown waters . . . Sometimes I'll get into the bath with all my kids and they'll look at me and say, 'Oh, it's just us! It's just our family in the bath!' And I remember that feeling, when it was just our family. It's such a powerful moment."

On whether she's changed how fashion uses animal products: "I don't think I have, no. But I think I am definitely in the process of doing something very different from other luxury brands. I did always say I wanted to infiltrate from within. That was always my reasoning behind going into partnership with a luxury group that uses a lot of leather in their products. I'm also a real believer that just doing a little something is really a lot better than doing a lot of nothing."